“I’ve been an artist all my life, even drawing childhood friends portraits for them in 2nd gradeand 3rd grade and drawing paper doll clothes for our paper dolls.” Not all art is shown in conventional places such as the stunning, hard-to-believe totally handmade paper dressesby Celesta on view for three months in the widows of Clotheshorse Anonymous (where shedoes the marketing), Dallas’ largest high end resale clothing store in the northwest quadrantwhere Preston and Forest meet. I first learned of this artist however in a very different role –as an artist contributing to the Madi Museum’s exhibit “Geometric Abstractions/Works onPaper” on display until September 26.

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Paper Valentino

This amazingly accomplished commercial artist’s working background centered inNew York in high positions on television advertising and product design, along withfilm and illustration with illustrious clients in hers and others’ firms such as Colgate-Palmolive, Clairol, Lipton and El Chico. Later, while living in Nevada she becamein-house advertising agent and muralist for Harrah’s Casinos, and she was awarded three grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for paintings depicting historical events in three separate County Courthouses. A job with a top advertising agency brought her to Dallas and last year for Neiman-Marcus’ downtown store’s Christmas windows, she designed and made the background murals, props and mannequins.

Paper Versace & Valentino

Since clothes for this store are one of a kind unlike regular retail outlets, Celesta arrivedat creating what to her was the logical solution for the summer windows– stylish, cool white and recyclable paper dresses to reinforce their slogan “Hunt, Gather, Recycle”- beautifully situated on four white graceful mannequins with “no personality.”The setting in all white makes everything “anonymous”; paper sunglasses and sunhats simply contribute to the theme. The upcoming, seasonal group of unusual poses, differing surfaces, styles and fabric designs remain in Celestra’s imagination, whatshe’s gifted with an unending amount.

“It’s funny to think that after all these years I am back doing paper dolls, sort of thelike I did as a kid only three dimensionally now.”